Building Permits, August 2016, published October 6
Municipalities issued $7.3 billion worth of building permits in August, up 10.4% from July but 2.2% lower than in August 2015. Five provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Manitoba experienced the largest gain, (+47.4%) followed by New Brunswick (+33.2%). The steepest annualized losses occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (-49.2), Saskatchewan (-36.2%) and Alberta (-22.0%). Quebec recorded a year-over-year increase of 18.4%, while Ontario experienced a 4.8% annualized loss. Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.5 billion in August, up 9.6% from July...
Read MoreConsumer Price Index, August, 2016, published September 23, (2002=100)
The Consumer Price Index rose by 1.1% in August compared with August 2015, down from the annualized increase of 1.3% in July. The CPI in August for goods was up 0.3% from a year earlier while the CPI for services rose 1.8%. Gasoline prices in August were down 11.5% from August 2015, after dropping 14.0% in July. Overall, energy prices declined 5.8% between August 2015 and August 2016, following a 7.4% annualized rate of decrease in July. Excluding energy, the annualized Consumer Price Index rose 1.8% in August, after a year-over-year increase of 1.9% in July. Food prices rose 1.1 % in...
Read MoreRetail Trade, July 2016, published September 23
Retail sales in July were $44.1 billion, down 0.1% from June but an increase of 2.3% from July 2015. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers and by gasoline stations, retail sales were up by 3.5% from July 2015. Retail sales in volume terms were up 0.3% from June. Decreases in month-over-month sales were reported in 5 of 11 sectors. July 2016 sales over July 2015 were up in seven provinces. British Columbia experienced the largest annualized gain (+6.4%), followed by Prince Edward Island (+5.8%) and Quebec (+3.80%). The year-over-year gain in Ontario was 3.3%. Sales in the...
Read MoreWholesale Trade, July 2016, published September 21
Wholesalers sold $56.5 billion worth of goods and services in July, up 0.3% from June and 3.3% higher than in July 2015. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 2.1% from July 2015. In terms of volume, wholesale sales were unchanged in July from June. Annualized wholesale sales were up in six provinces. British Columbia (+6.9%) led the way, followed by Quebec (+5.9%). Ontario’s annualized gain was 5.1%. Alberta experienced the largest loss (-7.3%), followed by Saskatchewan (-3.7%). Wholesalers’ inventories in July were unchanged from June at $71.8 billion. ...
Read MoreLabour Force Survey, August 2016, published September 9
Employment in August was up 0.1% from July. The unemployment rate was 7.0%, up from 6.9% in July. Construction employment was up 0.5% from July while manufacturing employment increased 0.2% from a month earlier. In August, employment stood at 18.0 million, up 0.4% from August 2015. Full-time employment grew by 52,200 from July, while part-time employment decreased by 26,000 from the previous month. Full time employment was down by 35,700 from August 2015, while part-time employment increased by 113,100 over the same period. Employment over the past 12 months grew in four provinces. ...
Read More